What is Lupus?

What is Lupus?

Lupus is a chronic AutoImmune disease in which your immune system becomes confused. It becomes an “overachiever” because it can no longer tell the difference between viruses/bacterias and your own vital organs so it tries to destroy them. Basically, your body is at war with itself.

Statistics on Lupus:

The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that 1-5 to 2 million Americans have Lupus and another 5 million patients have Lupus worldwide. Someone YOU KNOW has Lupus, it is estimated that there is a new diagnosis every 1/2 hour here in the US.

Men can also get Lupus, however 90% of Lupus Patients are female and most often diagnosed between the ages of 15-44. It is a misconception that Lupus is a “woman’s disease” because that simply is not true. Men tend to actually get very severe manifestations of the disease. It is also 2-3 times more common in African-Americans,Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans and Asians than it is in Caucasians.

There are different kinds of Lupus: Systemic (SLE), Discoid or Cutaneous Lupus, Neonatal Lupus, or Drug-induced Lupus. Cutaneous Lupus accounts for 10% of all Lupus cases.

70% of cases are Systemic and are usually the most severe. Out of that percentage, approximately 1/2 of them include at least 1organ involvement.According to the CDC, Lupus has a relatively high mortality rate among the rheumatic conditions (14.5% in 1997).